Shelby Hyman can console herself with the knowledge that her required restitution is on the low side. On February 10, Hyman, former president and treasurer of American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 1761, was sentenced in Middlesex County (New Jersey) Superior Court to four years in prison for stealing about $176,000 in funds from the New Brunswick union over a six-year period. She also was ordered to pay $25,000 in restitution on top of the $10,000 she paid last October – well short of $176,000. Hyman had pleaded guilty last August after being arrested and charged with fund misapplication in December 2018. AFSCME Local 1761 represents various employees of Rutgers University.
According to prosecutors, Hyman, now 52, a resident of Franklin Township (Somerset County), N.J., used her position as union president and treasurer during 2012-18 to divert union funds to personal uses. Eventually, one or more suspicious union members requested that police investigate missing money. Following the inquiry, Hyman resigned her positions at the union and her regular health technician job at Rutgers. As part of the plea deal last fall, she is banned from future public employment.